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PsychologieDe Beir

Privacy

Privacy statement

This privacy statement describes how Psychologie De Beir processes the personal data of visitors to this website, of people who get in touch and of people in therapy. It has been drawn up in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Belgian Act of 30 July 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data, the Act of 22 August 2002 on patients' rights and the Act of 22 April 2019 on the quality of healthcare practice.

1. Who is responsible

The data controller is:

  • Laura De Beir, clinical psychologist, practising under the name Psychologie De Beir
  • Maalse Steenweg 171, 8310 Bruges, Belgium
  • Enterprise number: 1041.437.827
  • Clinical psychologist visa number: 326697
  • Psychologists' Commission registration number: 962139505
  • Email: laura@psychologiedebeir.be
  • Phone: +32 456 93 37 03

2. What this website itself processes

2.1 Cookies. This website sets no cookies and uses no similar techniques. There are no analytics services, tracking pixels or social media components. Fonts, images and scripts come exclusively from the site's own server. That is also why there is no cookie banner: there is nothing to ask consent for.

2.2 The map on Practical info. The Practical info page contains a Google Maps map (Google Ireland Limited). When you open that page, the map loads and your IP address is sent to Google, which processes it under its own privacy policy. This is the only place on this website where data go to a third party. If you would rather avoid that, you can look up the address in your own maps app; all the practical information on that page is also given as text.

3. Getting in touch

3.1 Which data. Anyone who uses the contact form provides a name, an email address, a phone number and a message. Anyone who gets in touch by email or by phone provides whatever they choose to share in that message or call.

3.2 For what purpose, and on what basis. These data are used solely to respond to the enquiry and to arrange a first session. Legal basis: taking steps at your request prior to entering into a contract (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR).

3.3 How the form works. The form sends your message as an email to the practice mailbox, through this website's server. No external form service is involved and the content of your message is not stored on the server. To prevent abuse, the server only keeps track of how many messages are sent per network address: an encrypted representation (hash) of the IP address with timestamps, at most five per hour, and nothing from the content. These data are deleted automatically after one hour. You then receive a short automatic confirmation at the email address you gave; it contains nothing from your message.

3.4 Email is not encrypted. For a first contact, your name and contact details are enough. You do not need to explain in writing what is going on; that belongs in the conversation itself. Anything you do write ends up in the practice mailbox and is treated confidentially there.

3.5 How long. Messages from people who do not go on to start therapy are deleted after one month. If therapy does start, the contact details become part of the record described in section 4.

4. Therapy

4.1 The record. A patient record is kept for every person in therapy, as required by Article 33 of the Act of 22 April 2019. It contains identification and contact details, the dates of consultations and the psychologist's notes on the therapy.

4.2 Legal basis. These are data concerning health within the meaning of Article 9 GDPR. The processing is necessary for the provision of healthcare and is based on Article 9(2)(h) GDPR, together with Article 6(1)(c) GDPR (legal obligation) and Article 6(1)(b) GDPR (performance of the contract).

4.3 Professional secrecy. The processing is subject to professional secrecy under Article 458 of the Belgian Criminal Code and to the code of ethics of the Psychologists' Commission. Without your consent, no data are disclosed to third parties, not even to a GP, an employer or a family member. The only exceptions are those laid down by law itself.

4.4 How long. The record is kept for at least 30 and at most 50 years from the last contact (Article 35 of the Act of 22 April 2019). This legal obligation to retain the record takes precedence over a request for erasure.

4.5 Invoicing. Name, address and payment details are processed for invoicing and accounting on the basis of Article 6(1)(c) GDPR, and kept for the statutory retention period for accounting records.

5. Minors

A minor may contact the practice themselves. Under Article 12 of the Act of 22 August 2002 on patients' rights, a minor's rights are exercised by their parents or guardian. A minor who can be considered capable of a reasonable assessment of their own interests exercises those rights independently. Whether that is the case is assessed for each person, according to age and maturity.

Professional secrecy also applies towards parents. Anything to be discussed with a parent or guardian is first discussed with the minor, and what a minor shares in confidence is not simply passed on. Here too, only the exceptions laid down by law apply.

6. Your rights

Within the limits of the GDPR and of the legislation on patient records, you have:

  • the right of access (Article 15 GDPR) and to a copy of your record (Article 9 of the Act of 22 August 2002);
  • the right to rectification (Article 16 GDPR);
  • the right to erasure (Article 17 GDPR), without prejudice to the legal retention obligation in section 4.4;
  • the right to restriction of processing (Article 18 GDPR);
  • the right to data portability (Article 20 GDPR);
  • the right to object (Article 21 GDPR), and the right to withdraw consent you have given.

Please send any request to laura@psychologiedebeir.be. You will receive a reply within one month of receipt. To avoid data reaching the wrong person, proof of identity may be requested.

7. Making a complaint

If you are not satisfied with how your data are processed, you can lodge a complaint with the Belgian Data Protection Authority, Rue de la Presse 35 / Drukpersstraat 35, 1000 Brussels, via www.dataprotectionauthority.be(opens in a new window). This right exists independently of the possibility of first raising the matter with the practice itself.

8. Changes

This statement is updated whenever the processing of personal data changes. The version in force is always the one on this page.

Version: 13 September 2026.